Fernandez aiming for first Road America win.

The Champ Car series heads to Elkhart Lake this weekend to race at a venue christened by the first Mexican success in CART racing and with the country's senior statesman eager to add his name to the list of victors.

At 4.048miles in length, Road America is the longest road course on the schedule - and also the fastest. The series has been competing on the circuit since 1982, with Hector Rebaque winning the inaugural event to become the first Mexican driver to claim a Champ Car race victory. Now Adrian Fernandez is hoping that his recent road course form can carry him to the winners' circle.

For Fernandez, this weekend marks a return to his favourite track, as he made his first appearance at Road America in 1993, and has enjoyed considerable success there over the years, with three podium finishes and two fifth-place runs. He will, however, be chasing that elusive first win at the circuit when the 60-lap Mario Andretti Grand Prix gets underway this Sunday.

"The Elkhart Lake circuit is beautiful, it is my favourite race track, and I have finished on the podium there three times in the past four years," he confirmed, "but, unfortunately, we had a mechanical problem that put us out last year, so we are still looking for the top step of the podium. I love to drive on the track, and we have been very competitive here, so hopefully we can win our second race of the season this weekend."

Fernandez's last CART win came on the last road course the series raced on, when he took line honours at Portland in June. With the airport track in Cleveland and two street circuits in Canada having been used since, the Mexican is hopeful that he can carry his road course form to Wisconsin.

Road America's 14-turn permanent circuit is a driver favourite with its long straights, fast and slow turns and plenty of elevation changes, and Fernandez's race engineer David Watson estimates top speeds of around 186mph as minimisation of drag will be a key for success this weekend.

"All cars will be run in their minimum drag configuration - low drag sidepods and rear wing positions," he noted, "In this way, Road America is the only track of its type. The elevation changes can make corner entry interesting and a solid rear end [to the car] is important."